You can report inappropriate behaviour of staff using the Reporting Misconduct Form. A member of OSCCA will be in contact with you within five working days to discuss the next steps.
Before making a report, it may be useful to know that:
- You will never be disadvantaged for raising a genuine complaint.
- You will be able to bring a supporter with you to any meetings.
- You will be informed of the outcome of your complaint and any resulting actions that have a direct impact on you.
- OSCCA does not use non-disclosure agreements for any cases relating to students or staff and you will therefore not be prevented from speaking about the incident/s you have reported. However, when any investigation is ongoing, we ask everyone involved not to discuss the matter with others, except from those who are providing support. This enables the Investigator to gather accounts from individuals about what they remember about an event, rather than what they’ve told others or what others have told them.
You can find FAQs here.
If you have any procedural questions about submitting a complaint about a staff member and would like to enquire about these before submitting a reporting misconduct form, please contact studentcomplaints@admin.cam.ac.uk.
Support for Students
There are a number of places where you can receive independent support and advice regarding University procedures and support for your wellbeing. Further information and links can be found here.
Formal action
With your consent, the Student Complaint Procedure can be used to consider reported misconduct about University staff.
Where a complaint is investigated:
- It is highly likely that any responsibility or decision-making that the staff member has over you will be removed as soon as possible following your report;
- During the process you will not be expected to be in the same room as the staff member and it is very unlikely that you will need to attend a hearing;
- The investigation can take between three and six months but you will be kept updated throughout the process;
- You will be informed of the outcome of your complaint and any actions that have a direct impact on you. The University will also consider whether any remedies are appropriate.
This flowchart outlines the stages of the complaint journey.
Anonymous reporting
You can report inappropriate behaviour of staff anonymously here. The University cannot take direct action as a result of anonymous reporting but will collate information you have provided and use it to help monitor the prevalence of incidents and understand the impact of initiatives run by the collegiate University and Students’ Union.
If you believe that a criminal offence has been committed then you can report the matter to the police. If the incident has taken place in Cambridge then you can find out more information from the Cambridge Constabulary. If you report a matter to the police, you can still report a matter to the University or College. The University can limit any interaction between you and the staff member you have reported whilst any criminal investigation is ongoing, otherwise the University is likely to wait until the conclusion of any criminal proceedings before taking further action. Unless the University considers there to be an immediate and significant threat to you or other members of the community, it will never inform the police about a matter you have reported without your explicit consent.
The procedure for complaining about a College employee or fellow to a College is likely to be published on the relevant College website. You can seek advice from your Tutor or Senior Tutor, or from the Tutorial Office about how to make a complaint, or where the Senior Tutor is involved, the Master of the College.
With your consent, the University and College(s) may work together to decide how best to investigate a matter. For advice about the procedure to use, speak to your Tutor, the Harassment and Violence Support Service (HVSS) or OSCCA at studentcomplaints@admin.cam.ac.uk.